Two Russian teenagers take a bite of American Pie

ROCHESTER — Dasha Poskannaia and Sonya Lopatkina are two very different teenagers. Both hail from big cities in Russia, but their futures seem to be heading in different directions.

One thing's for sure though; they're both bound to be leaders in their chosen fields.

The two 15-year old Russians spent a month in the U.S. northeast learning about American business and culture through an organization called Future Leaders of Russia, now in its 19th year. They are part of a small percentage of intelligent and successful Russian students who are able to make the cut for the elite program. In fact there wouldn't be a lot of people in their respective cities who would travel as far as the United States, they say.

Dasha hails from the far eastern city of Khabarovsk, which was built near the Chinese border 135 years ago as part of the construction of the Trans-Siberian Railroad. It is 11 hours by plane, from Moscow. Sonya lives in the ancient city of Yaroslavl in western Russia (a four hour train ride from Moscow). It was built more than 1,000 years ago and is a major cultural and economic center. Each of their home cities is a bustling metropolis with 600,000 residents.

The two girls are very different from each other. Dasha doesn't like Russian President Vladimir Putin, whereas Sonya does. Dasha is a writer and poet and would like to one day be a journalist. She has strong feelings about environmental issues. Sonya is heavily interested in sports. She plays table tennis and is captain of her school's volleyball team. Sonya specializes in math and geometry and wants to become an economist later in life.

Even with their differences however, the two teens have become close, notes Rochester's Marina Forbes, who runs the New England Language Center. Forbes was born in Leningrad (now St. Petersburg), Russia and is well known for creating beautiful Russian artwork. She also has been instrumental in furthering Russian culture in this area. She says that the girls are proof that there's more tying people together than pulling them apart — alluding to the American political system.

"These kids are best friends," she said. "It's a message for America that we can get along and be friends."

Forbes led the two teens around this area. Over the course of 30 days, Dasha and Sonya lived with 10 host families each and visited areas like Rochester, Dover and Portsmouth and went further afoot to New York City, Boston and Cape Neddick, Maine. They met with N.H. Gov. John Lynch, made sandwiches for underprivileged youth in Boston and sat with interns at the Museum of Russian Icons in Clinton, Mass.

Their mission was to gather information about the life, culture, business practices and political structures in the U.S. and to present their experiences, observations, insights and impressions of America to the faculty, staff and students at their schools.

"We're asking everyone what their recipe for success is," said Dasha, referring to American business owners. "We learned there's no whining or complaining; and don't be afraid of obstacles."

Added Sonya, "Hard work is the most important thing."

"In America, people are very friendly," said Dasha. "They ask 'how are you.' That's not normal in Russia. They don't talk with strangers."

Sonya and Dasha went for a walk with their first host family and a couple of family dogs.

"They clean up after the dogs," Sonya said. "They don't do that in Russia."

Both girls agreed that Russia and the United States have a lot in common. You're as likely to find teens on Facebook in Russia as here. But some aspects of the cultures differ.

Take Justin Bieber.

"Many girls like Justin Bieber. In Russia, everyone hates him. His songs are not good," said Sonya. "And we wear different clothes. For American girls, it's important to feel comfortable, but for Russian girls, we feel like we have to look beautiful."

Unlike some of their American counterparts, both girls admitted to missing their parents.

Schools also differ. Students hit the bricks six days a week in Russia. The government subsidizes lunches so they run no more than $1. If a family has more than three kids, lunch is often free. After regular schooling gets out for the day, specialized schools kick in, if parents are willing to pay. Most Russians also learn English as an additional language. There's little free time except for Sundays.

Both girls have traveled extensively, though this was their first real trip without their parents. Sonya has visited Turkey, Greece, Cyprus, Finland, Tunisia and Bulgaria, and Dasha has been to China, Japan, Spain, Turkey and a lot of other Russian cities.

Dasha and Sonya both want to continue their education in the United States, from 12th grade through University. Dasha loves New York City and Sonya thought Boston was the "best city in America." If they end up here, they'll both admittedly be in a similar predicament as most other teens. They feel that American food, in general, is very unhealthy — but they both love it.